can we claim money back for new bank charges?

Question

I have haerd a lot in the news about bank charges being unlawful and people claiming back £thousounds so I assumed the banks would have stopped this practice. Last calender month I received £150 in charges -£25 for each transaction which was over my overdraft limit. When I called they said this was the terms of the account. Can I do anything?

Answer 1

Its a very odd situation at present.The banks on the one hand can charge what they like, but if you claim them back you can do so successfully. No ruling has been made on bank charges, which has led to this odd situation. It was supposed to happen last April, where the charges were going to be capped, but because the banks threatened to stop free banking, the OFT postponed making its ruling for 9 months.

Currently, almost everyone claiming their charges back are getting them, with the banks settling.

You can claim your £150 back, as well as any other charges you`ve had in the last 6 years.

Use the steps below, and the template letters on my site and you should have a good chance of getting a full refund of your charges. My site tells you everything you need to know, and sets you up to be in the best possible position with your claim.

The full process and timescales for claiming back your charges is:

1) Write to the bank and ask them for a copy of your charges for the last 6 years, or alternatively a set of statements for the same period. You do this by making a "Subject Access Request" under the Data Protection Act, enclosing a cheque for £10 made out to the bank. This by passes the banks normal charges for statements which is normal a large amount for 6 years worth. The bank have 40 days to send you the data.

2) Write to the bank asking them to refund your charges, giving them 14 days to reply, attaching a "Schedule of Charges" (a list of the charges you are claiming for).

3) Send the bank a "Letter before Action" giving the bank one last chance to refund your charges before you take court action. They have 14 days to reply.

4) File a claim online using the Money Claim Online web site run by the UK Court Service. The claim is served on the bank 5 days after its submitted. The bank has 14 days to acknowledge the claim. If they don't you can request a "Judgement by Default" and you win the case, and get your charges, statutory interest at 8%, and your court fees.

If they do acknowledge the claim, they then have 14 days to submit a defence (making 28 days in total from the date the claim was served). If they don't then you can again request a "Judgement by Default", and get back your charges, interest and court fees as above.

If they file a defence, then you and the bank get an "Allocation Questionnaire" to fill in. Some judges dismiss the case at this stage, as the bank can't win, so again you win. If this doesn't happen, a hearing date is allocated. The bank will most likely either back out before the hearing, or won't turn up in court. Again you win the case and get your charges, interest and fees.

Follow the correct procedures and you stand a good chance of getting your charges back! Its important to send all letters to the bank and courts by recorded delivery, so you can prove they were received, and more importantly when they were received (which you can find from the tracking section of the Royal Mail web site).

Also make sure that you send all letters to the banks head office, and not your local branch. Don't phone the bank either, as this can delay things and you have no proof of whats been said.

Have a look at my site below which has detailed step by step guides to the whole process of claiming your charges back. It also has template letters you can put your details into and send to the bank, and forums for one to one advice. We also have a guide to filing your claim in court online, which is unique to the site.

The site is free to use!

Answer 2

Yep, crack on and claim. I'm about to hit the Bank of Scotland for six years worth of overcharging, something which I'm going to really, really enjoy doing no matter how much they think I'm going to back down. Because they've acted illegally in charging unreasonable amounts, and they've had thousands off me in the last six years. I'm having that back.

The Lloyds case mentioned was a highly complicated one that is currently under appeal, and in any case it was not a decision that was capable of creating legal precedence, hence anyone trying to put you off by saying it did is lying through their teeth. The banks will always settle before a claim gets near a court where a binding precedent could be created.
Our banks have been milking us for years, and they're petrified of someone getting these cases to a court that can create precedence by its rulings. A claim upheld in any such court would damage all banks by making them charge reasonable amounts for overdrawn accounts, unpaid items etc.
Have fun and don't let the b@stards put you off.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, some service fees are told up front and those will stand for every check you bounce... I would just make sure or ask if they have a overdraft protection loan or see if your savings can be tied into your checking to help when you do accidentally overdrawn....

Answer 4

You can stop writing overdrafts and save lots of money.

Answer 5

Complain loudly first.

Lloyds recently won a case against a claimant though so it isn't as clear cut as some would have you believe.

Answer 6

Check out this website for all your answers :o)

http://penaltycharges.co.uk/main_bank_charges.php